HENRY ABBOTT, ESPN / TRUEHOOP

Old-school sports executives like to sell the idea that running a team comes with alchemy, pressures and bad breaks unlike any other business, and that us mortals could never understand. Not to mention, players are tricky. The Sports Playbook upends all that with these marvelously subversive fighting words: “Bad apples come from bad apple factories. Good apples come from good apple factories.” It’s an electric idea, and while it’s all phrased very kindly, there’s no denying the research lands in the executive suite with fingers pointed. The big message is not that every great team must have the same culture. It’s that “there must be a culture,”says Gordon, “and it must be done purposefully, at all levels.” Teams where that hasn’t happened are doing it wrong.

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The Sports Conflict Institute (SCI) supports competitive goals in athletics through assessing, preventing, and resolving destructive conflicts that occur both inside and outside the lines. Serving as a resource center that provides a range of services to help manage risk and optimize performance, we know that some conflict is inevitable, but how we respond ultimately determines whether success or failure will follow.

SCI supports both organizational and individual goals. Our approach is based on the assumption that good conflict management is good for sports, good for the business of sports, and good for society. Every day there is a sports conflict that makes national headlines. SCI is dedicated to minimizing these destructive costs by looking far below the tip of the iceberg to foster the positive value that sports can provide.